Hackers claim massive Samsung leak

The hacking group Lapsus$ recently targeted Nvidia, demanding the chipmaker eliminate a feature in some GPUs that limits hash rates while mining Ethereum cryptocurrency. The hackers made it clear they had the goods by first leaking internal Nvidia email handles and cryptographically hashed passwords, then setting a deadline of March 4. Lapsus$ isn't stopping there — now Samsung is under the gun, and valuable source code is once again at stake.

The new leak is detailed in a report from Bleeping Computer, which calls Lapsus$ an "extortion gang" and says the group initially posted a screenshot of code for Samsung software, then detailed what has been exfiltrated from the South Korean electronics giant's servers. The stolen info appears to include vital information, including algorithms for all biometric unlocking operations, the source code for the bootloader for newer Samsung products, and all the source code behind the process of authorizing and authenticating Samsung accounts.

It is a bad breach if all the claims are true. The data is allegedly available to torrent, with Lapsus$ packing it into compressed files that total nearly 190GB. According to Bleeping Computer, the hack isn't a kidnapping as with Nvidia, because as of Saturday there wasn't any evidence of a ransom demand. The cat is out of the bag, too, as over 400 peers are reportedly sharing the information and the hackers indicated plans to boost download speeds with additional servers.

It's an open question as to how consumers will look at this hack, but you don't have to understand programming or the nitty-gritty details of cybersecurity to see why this could be a blow to one of the biggest global electronics brands — Nasdaq.com reports the Nvidia breach definitely impacted the chipmaker's bottom line, with its stocks closing lower than the rest of the market on Friday. Samsung might find out the real dollar value of the damage done when the markets open on Monday.